Latest Massachusetts Headlines
All the headlines from our Massachusetts Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Southeastern Mass. Payroll Scam Busted
Jan 27 2005 // Five individuals have been charged in federal court with participating in a massive tax and insurance fraud scheme in connection with their operation of temporary employment agencies in Southeastern Massachusetts. They are...
Court Knocks Out Mass. Limits on Banks’ Sales of Insurance
Jan 24 2005 // Banks should have an easier time selling insurance in Massachusetts thanks to a recent federal court ruling granting supremacy to federal rules over more restrictive state laws governing banks’ sales of insurance...
COMMERCE SUES OVER AUTO PLAN:
Jan 24 2005 // The Commerce Insurance Company has filed an action in Massachusetts Superior Court, Suffolk County, in response to the rules published by the Division of Insurance for a new automobile residual market system. Commerce is...
Conn. Approves ConnectiCare Takeover by HIP-NY
Jan 21 2005 // Connecticut Insurance Commissioner Susan Cogswell has approved the acquisition of ConnectiCare by Health Insurance Plan of Greater New York. The merger price is $350 million. Regulators in Massachusetts and New York must...
Feds Sue to Block Mass. Oil Spill Liability Law
Jan 21 2005 // The federal government has filed a lawsuit challenging key sections of a new Massachusetts law that regulates oil tanker operations and safety in state waters, saying the provisions violate federal authority and should be...
Only 2 Mass. Insurers Offering Good Driver Discounts
Jan 19 2005 // The number of insurers in Massachusetts looking to grant discounts to the best drivers has gone down to 2 from just 3. Of the state’s 20 private passenger auto insurers only Amica Insurance and Electric Insurance,...
Tower Group Expanding to States Throughout East Coast, Including N.J., Conn., Mass. and Md.
Jan 18 2005 // Tower Group, Inc. announced that it entered into a stock purchase agreement today to acquire North American Lumber Insurance Company, a shell company with 17 state licenses, nine of which are active in the following...
Safety Insurance Estimates Positive Impact of Mass. Residual Market Plan Changes on Its Operations
Jan 17 2005 // Safety Insurance Group, Inc. in Boston has updated its estimate of the financial impact of the reform approved on Dec. 31, 2004 of the residual market system for personal automobile insurance in Massachusetts. The company...
Massachusetts Bankers Assoc. Reports Favorable Federal Court Decision on Bank Insurance Sales
Jan 13 2005 // The Massachusetts Bankers Association (MBA) on Thursday announced that the U.S. District Court has issued a favorable opinion in its declaratory judgment action, resolving a critical case for banks that want to engage in...
Mass. AG Probes Municipal Health Insurance Buying
Jan 11 2005 // The Massachusetts attorney general is expanding his probe into the commissions that insurers pay insurance brokers who promote their products to include contracts with cities and towns. The investigation by Attorney...
Mass. Prison Officer Indicted for Comp Fraud
Jan 5 2005 // A former Bristol County (Mass.) Corrections Officer has been indicted for working while collecting workers’ compensation benefits, according to Attorney General Tom Reilly. Kevin J. Mello, of South Dartmouth was...
Despite Residual Market Changes in Mass., Commerce Insurance to Offer 5% AAA Group Discount
Jan 5 2005 // Despite new rules restricting its ability to reinsure individual high risk members of groups in the residual market, Commerce Insurance Company plans to again file with the Massachusetts Division of Insurance a five...
Commerce Insurance Goes to Court Over Newly-Approved Mass. Auto Assigned Risk Plan
Jan 5 2005 // The Commerce Insurance Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Commerce Group, Inc., has filed an action in Massachusetts Superior Court, Suffolk County, in response to the rules published by the Division of Insurance...
Mass. Gay Couple Seeks Benefits in R.I.
Jan 4 2005 // The Tiverton Rhode Island School Committee has asked a Superior Court judge whether it can extend health care coverage to the same-sex spouse of a retired high school teacher. Cheryl McCullough, who worked as a health...
MISCLASSIFIED IN MASS:
Jan 3 2005 // Employers seeking to avoid Massachusetts payroll taxes and some employee benefits are wrongly classifying thousands of workers as self-employed or independent contractors, according to a report by the University of...
Mass. Lawmakers Approve Anti-Runner Bill
Dec 29 2004 // Massachusetts lawmakers have passed an insurance fraud bill that targets so-called “runners” who recruit others to participate in staged car accidents to collect the insurance. The bill makes the practice a...
Mass. Gov. Romney Nixes LTC Tax Break
Dec 23 2004 // Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is blocking a bill that Democratic lawmakers hoped would expand access to insurance for long term care, saying the state can’t afford a tax cut that would cause a $10 million annual...
From Maine to Virginia … What Happened in 2004
Dec 20 2004 // Leaving aside the insurance brokerage compensation investigations, the World Trade Center trial, the St. Paul-Travelers merger and the UnumProvident settlement, all of which have their roots in this region but grew to...
Berkshire Bank Buys Woronoco Savings Bank and Insurance Agencies in Mass.
Dec 20 2004 // Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (AMEX: BHL), the holding company for Berkshire Bank in Pittsfield, Mass., has agreed to purchase Woronoco Bancorp, Inc. (AMEX: WRO), the holding company for Woronoco Savings Bank, including...
Average Rate Cut Slightly, Inexperienced Drivers to Pay More, Under 2005 Mass. Auto Insurance Decision
Dec 17 2004 // Massachusetts Insurance Commissioner Julianne M. Bowler issued a decision in the 2005 private passenger insurance rate case that will result in a statewide average rate decrease of 1.69 percent next year. The new rate...
